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I didn’t know much about Serenity. I knew that when we were children, before her mother died, my mom and her mom used to be friends. My mom even had some holiday photos with the two of us dressed the same hanging in the hallways—two bunnies on Easter, two pumpkins on Halloween—dumb shit like that because our ages were so close. That sort of connection didn’t last long, because our two families separated in politics and legal matters as the years went on.

Once David rose up the ranks of the Police force, both the Hansens and the Thornes stopped being “friendly” beyond what was needed for the public scrutiny. I wasn’t old enough to notice a loss of any kind with Serenity and Silas as my friends when that all went down.

Friendships didn’t really matter much as I was growing up. I was always alone, anyway.

Serenity returned to the door slightly out of breath, like maybe she had been rummaging through some items in a hurry. She probably thought I might dip—which, in theory, wasn’t a bad idea.

But curiosity held the best of my better judgement, and I needed to know what she had.

She stepped outside, crossing over to me quickly. Initially, I didn’t see anything in her hands at all, and that made me nervous. Her fist was closed, and as she approached she reached to me with her free hand, taking her palm under my knuckles so that I wouldn’t drop whatever she intended to give me. She placed her fist over my hand, and whatever was in there, dropped down into my grasp.

I focused my eyes downward.

The golden airplane.

I stared at it, and was overcome with how quickly my emotions catapulted. Tears threatened the corners of my eyes as memories washed over me in waves.

Silas found a way to make sure I got his gift. I hadn’t expected that. Or that I would have such an emotional reaction to seeing it again. I couldn’t look away from that golden figurine in my hand.

Speaking of hands, Serenity was still clutching onto mine.

“Silas had me take it. In case I saw you. He said you left it behind.”

I nodded. I had left it behind. Along with everything else. I hadn’t answered Silas’s calls or messages. I had been a silent, dark void when it came to letting him go. I was even proud of myself at moments, for cleanly cutting the rope between us. But now, seeing that he was still thinking of me, seeing how he wanted to make sure I had this plane in my possession, knowing what it stood for—hurt me in ways I wasn’t sure I’d felt before.

“H-how—” my voice cracked. “How is he?”

I couldn’t help myself. I had to ask.

“He misses you.”

My eyes flew to hers, startled by her abrupt and honest answer. My heart was suddenly pounding in my ears.

She continued, despite my shock.

“He talks about you…often. You should…return his calls or something…sometime…” Her eyes searched mine, trying to convey what the words couldn’t completely do.

But I could read between the lines.

Holy shit. She knew.

The realization slammed into me—Serenity actually knew about me and Silas. She knew what this ridiculous golden airplane meant, what we’d been to each other. I’d tried so hard to keep it secret, to bury it deep enough that no one would ever find out, but she’d known the whole time. She was literally standing here holding my hand and talking about him like it was nothing. Like our families weren’t mortal enemies.

My grip tightened on the figurine until the wings dug into my palm. “You—” I started, but my voice died. How long had she known? Had she seen us together? The embarrassment hit me almost immediately, but underneath it was this fucked-up sense of relief that I didn’t have to hide anymore.

Then the panic set in.

I couldn’t breathe, and I couldn’t be here looking at her face for one more second. I pulled my hand free and stumbled backward, the airplane clutched against my chest.

“Wait—” Serenity reached for me, but I was already turning, my legs moving before my brain could stop them.

“Noah, is that you?” Alex’s voice called loudly from behind.

Shit.

I stopped, my face pointed in the direction of the car, ready to leap inside and get the hell out of there. But I couldn’t go. Not after I’d made such a show of wanting to see Alex, banging on his door like a psychopath, and waiting around like an idiot. Leaving now would only make me look even worse. And Alex—being the biggest tattletale in the world—would surely call and report straight to Damian if he noticed any sort of odd behavior from me.

I took a deep breath, taking the plane from my hand and shoving it into my pocket.